The one with grocery store paparazzi

A lot of people talk to me about the babies in public. A lot. I can't go even one aisle without someone making a comment. I don't really mind the comments, but it is difficult to have full-blown conversations with strangers in every aisle of Target. Just think, if 20 people stop to talk to me about the babies (which isn't abnormal) for 2 minutes each, that makes my Target trip 40 minutes longer.


Disclaimer: I know these people are just being nice. I know they are sweet and complimenting my babies and are curious about twin life. Please don't think I'm being negative.  But sometimes it's really nice to just pop in and out of a store and not have people stop you so they can tweet pics of your babies. 

I'm in a September twin mom group on Facebook, and we all were discussing funny things strangers say to us in stores. Here is a collection of things we hear all the time, along with a few random stories.

1. "You've got your hands full!"
-I seriously hear this at least 10 times a day. It has become super cliche after 7 months, although it is the truth! But I think strangers should give any mom credit! We all have our hands full, even with one kid!

2. "Can they read each other's mind?"
-Yes, my baby can read minds. And see dead people.

3. "Did you do infertility treatments?"
-FYI, this is not something everyone is comfortable talking about. I wouldn't bring it up to a stranger. (I personally didn't though.)

4. "Wow, one pregnancy and you're done!"
-Some people want more than 2 kids. It's kind of weird to assume how many kids a stranger wants.

5. "Are they identical?"
-I get this one a lot, but a lot of my friends say that people even say this to their boy/girl twins.  Boys and girls aren't identical; I won't get into the anatomy of it.

6. "What are their names?"  (when they find out the names don't match/rhyme they look disappointed and say, "Oh.")
-In the hospital I had a sweet cleaning lady come in my room. She looked at the names on their cribs and put her hand on her hip. She sternly said, "WHY 'DEM BABY NAMES DON'T RHYME?!?"  It was awesome.

7. "I'm glad it's you and not me!"
-Thanks?

Other memorable stories/quotes:
-"Wow. I had 4 kids but I was smart enough to have them one at a time!"

-Lady in motorized shopping cart with low batteries: "Wow! Are they twins?"  (I confirm yes, smile and keep walking.) "Not so fast now missy, come back! I'm not done looking at them!"

-Old man with overalls, no shirt, and no teeth hollered and stumbled after me in the grocery store shouting, "2 FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!! YOU GOT A TWO-FER!! A TWO-FER I TELL YA!!!!!" *

*This story is not a joke.

-When I told my grandma (the one afraid of the internet, not you, Nana) that I was having twins, she just kept saying, "Oh dear, I am just so sorry. I just feel so sorry for you. You poor thing."


There are other stories, but those are on the top of my head. And by the way, if you have ever said those cliche things to someone/me, don't worry. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just something we hear a lot.

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My favorite story is of a sweet, sweet old lady at Babies R Us. She was using a walker, on oxygen, and had huge hearing aids. Frail and thin and soft. She stopped and stared at my girls.
Then she immediately started weeping. "They are just the most beautiful things I've ever seen. You just made my day."
Of course I started crying, too.
I said, "They are such good babies, too. They are so sweet and easy for me."
She held my hand, looked into my eyes, and said, "That doesn't matter. Even if they were hard, they are just wonderful little things."

I guess that's all I need to remember. :)